In Scarlet: Sidestory
by Touda
Summary: This is a sidestory continuation to my fic Memories and the Future: In Scarlet. Kuchiki Tomi has to deal with the idea of marriage from a twenty five year old's perspective. Het, shonenai, WAFF, humour.


Disclaimer: I DON'T OWN THEM! Though, I DO own the character of Kuchiki Tomi. He's no Mary Sue or Marty Sue, whatever you guys want to call OC's in fanfiction. Never in my life have I ever dreamt of being an anime character, nor have I dreamt of being a twenty five year old shinigami who dates girls. -laughs- That's just not me.

Warnings: Clean fic! Sex free! –laughs- That's what I get for agreeing to a non-sexual request. Humour. Crack. AU. OC. The usual.

Notes: This fic was requested by quite a few of my 'Memories and the Future: In Scarlet' readers and reviewers. It will be based around Kuchiki Tomi (my OC, who is the son of Byakuya and Renji), and his relationship with Hinamori Momo. There will be mentions of the other shinigami but because it's based upon an OC, it will be categorized as an AU. Special thanks to my dearest readers on MSN, who continue to give me inspiration for these fics, as well as my other ongoing Bleach fanfic projects. They'll all be updated soon, now that my move is complete and my life finally resembles something akin to order again. -hugs you all- Thanks guys. And for the record, Tomi's name is not pronounced Tommy. It's Toh-mee. This information is for my favourite MSN user, who insists on calling him Tommy. 

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Throughout his rather easy life, Kuchiki Tomi had tried hard to impress both of his parents, burrowing himself in his schoolwork when he was an aspiring academy student to prove to Byakuya that he was as brilliant as the regal captain, and working himself to exhaustion on the training grounds, bruising and breaking bones on a regular basis to prove to Renji that he was as strong as the loudmouthed vice captain.

There was no denying the boy's preparedness for the future, everything about him held in the highest regards because of who his parents were, the entirety of Seireitei knowing that he would be a legend among them in his later years, one to rival Yamamoto Genryuusai himself. The knowledge of these rumours made him blush in public and though he tried to remain humble about who he was and where he came from, sometimes, it was nearly impossible.

"Naa, Tomi-kun? Do you ever wonder what it would be like as a married man? Have you given any thought to it?"

The raven-haired fourth seat looked over at his afternoon companion, lazily taking in his grinning face and easygoing pose.

"I don't have much comparison to go on, Ichimaru-oji. Byakuya-chi and Renji-chi are hardly a model couple and there are so few marriages going on in Seireitei."

"Maa, I guess you're right." The silver haired taichou sat up from his slightly lounged position and scratched idly at the back of his head. "Maybe you could ask your _other_ uncle about it? That orange haired ryoka."

He smirked, even through the nasty glare the young Kuchiki gave him, knowing full well that Tomi hated when his uncle was referred to badly because of his past.

"Ichigo-oji's busy with the thirteenth squad. Ukitake-taichou's gone so often that he almost runs the place himself now."

"Hmm. Well, then you might have to find out for yourself as time goes, ne?"

The younger shinigami nodded and got up to stretch just as Ichimaru was leaving, watching the man disappear as he approached the Kuchiki estate's garden wall. Having been afraid of the slightly creepy captain when he was a child, he had eventually grown to love him, mainly because he cared so much for Kira. The third division members' relationship had grown so much that they were practically married themselves, much like his own parents, so it was only polite for him to refer to the slim taichou as his uncle as well, the man's happy smile and gentle, relaxed attitude winning the young Kuchiki over easily enough in his later years.

He shrugged to no one in particular and picked up his zanpakutou, heading for his own manor, an adjacent building to the main estate home, smaller but just as lavish, everything perfectly set the way he wanted it. If things went well on the coming weekend, by this time next week, he would be happily married and hopefully, starting a family of his own.

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Hinamori Momo loved weekends, mainly because she could sleep in a little bit, but more so because she could spend all day with her fiancé, her face lighting up at the mere thought of him. Though physically still resembling the girl Renji had once known, the fifth division fukutaichou was much older than her firebrand lover, ignoring the human years in favour of forgoing age in general, telling Tomi that there was no age difference in Soul Society, that they were both alive and in love and that was all that mattered. The boy usually smiled and called her old anyway, earning himself a frown and then tickling the bun-toting shinigami to within an inch of her life.

He made her smile on a level no one else had been able to attain, not even her once god-like captain. Important to her regardless of her budding relationship, Aizen still held a place in her heart that even Tomi couldn't fill. It was a separation neither man minded. After all, being loved even a little bit was better than never being loved.

"Oi, Momo-chan, you around?"

She dried her hands on the cloth she had tucked into her indoor yukata, having been washing up the few dishes they had used during the day, avoiding the need for servants, even after Byakuya had insisted. She had grown up living alone until she had met her ice-wielding captain friend and even then, they did all the housework they could. She called out from the kitchen, watching down the corridor as the tall fourth seat moved in from the foyer.

"In here, Tomi-kun."

He saw her and immediately disappeared from her line of sight, reappearing behind her and wrapping his arms around her waist, hefting her up through a loud squeal, swinging the little fukutaichou in a circle before setting her back down and kissing the back of her head.

"Ichimaru-oji thinks I'm not ready to be married. It's not fair, especially considering he and Kira-oji have been together for so long. It's not like we've had a few hundred years to get acquainted or anything."

Hinamori giggled quietly and tugged the cloth from her obi, folding it neatly and setting it on the counter so she could brush the dirt from the boy's backside.

"If you want to redo everything and wait that long, I'll gladly ignore you for the first two hundred years, then start showing an interest about halfway through the third..."

Tomi growled slightly and turned back around to face her, not angry but taking the idea as a challenge, much like his red-haired father would.

"Nah, I'd get too impatient and probably force the issue too soon. Then I'd be a beast, ne?"

He purposely used the word his silver haired uncle used to use to refer to Renji when he spoke to Kira, loving it because in truth, it very accurately described his Rukongai born parent.

"You wouldn't be a beast, Tomi-kun. You'd be a cheater! It wouldn't be fair to ruin the fun."

"Aa, I know." He leaned down and kissed her forehead, nuzzling her cheek before moving slightly lower, wrapping his large arms around her tiny shoulders, cuddling her against his chest and kissing her on the mouth, garnering a gasp and a moaned sigh from the slim form.

He pulled away when he felt the odd sense of someone watching them, turning around to find Byakuya looking on with a slight smile, his left arm at his side while the right held a medium sized box.

"Oi, Byakuya-chi! How many times did you tell me not to walk in on someone when they're...otherwise engaged? Tch."

The regal Kuchiki stepped over the kitchen threshold and moved towards the pair, offering the box to his son and using the same hand to pat the little vice captain on the head.

"Mind your tone, Tomi. I'm not one of your uncouth Rukongai friends."

"Bya-chi...they're not uncouth. They were raised that way, they can't help it."

The whining tone never ceased to make the elder man smile and even Hinamori giggled a little bit, slipping out from under his hand to leave them men alone, choosing to put the now semi-dry dishes away.

"Don't whine, Tomi. It's very unbecoming. Besides, I haven't come to complain over your learned behaviour."

The boy glared a little bit before turning the box over in his hands, curious as to what his father would bring him that required him to come alone, the other sixth squad member usually on his heels if he wasn't off sleeping or fighting.

"Hey, yeah. What'd you bring me?"

"Just open it. The box won't reveal its secrets without its lid removed."

His curiosity piqued, Tomi set the box on the centre table and lifted the lid off, frowning at the amount of coiled items inside, having wondered why it was so heavy.

"Scrolls? What're these for?"

Byakuya picked up one of the bottom scrolls and tugged the string from it, allowing it to unroll a few inches, holding it out for the young Kuchiki to read, watching with immense interest as he snatched it and unrolled it a bit further, sitting down on the floor to get more comfortable.

"_'...and on the sixteenth of August, Tomi sprained his ankle climbing over the wall that surrounds the Shihouin family's garden, attempting to pick some of the strawberries they grow in the berry patch. He was punished accordingly and even though Renji thought we shouldn't have been so severe with him, he learned his lesson well enough to only use the gate to get in and even then, he knew to ask Yoruichi for permission first...'_ "

The boy blinked slightly and gave his father a deadpanned glare, not angry but no doubt embarrassed.

"You recorded everything I ever did? Isn't that a bit extreme?"

"The Kuchiki clan members are the record keepers in Soul Society. I was only doing my job, little one."

"Yeah but...wait a minute." He read a bit more from a second scroll snatched from the box. _"'...we took Tomi to see Gin and Izuru today but we brought him home early because he...' .._DAD!"

Hinamori jumped when her fiancé yelled, turning to see what the commotion was and only smiling when she saw the blush on Tomi's face.

"Really. Why did you feel the need to yell?"

"You had to take me home because I...pissed myself? How fuckin' embarrassing!"

"Language, Tomi."

He grumped a little bit and rolled the scroll back up, tucking in it beside s few newer looking ones.

"Sorry."

"In response to your question, yes we took you home because you had an accident. Izuru was eager to clean you up but it was a punishment for you, to have to leave. I doubt you even remember it. You wouldn't have even been four yet."

"How's it punishment if I don't know what's going on then?"

"You loved going to Izuru's home. Normally, you threw a fit when we tried to leave. This time, you got far too excited and wet yourself. It happens with small children."

Mortified beyond belief, Tomi stuffed the paper coils back into the box and plopped the lid back on, moving to stand again.

"Well, now that you've successfully embarrassed me in front of my future wife, can I offer you tea or something?"

The scarf less captain shook his head, needing to get going as he had an appointment to keep with his own lover.

"I'll decline for today. Your father is expecting me in the Court. We've got a small mission to go on." He turned abruptly and spoke as he walked, leaving the two lovebirds to themselves. "Those are for you to read to your future children, Tomi. Don't let anything happen to them. They might not be formally recorded journals, but they _are_ important to your father and myself. be careful with them."

He nodded to the man's back and after kissing Hinamori on the forehead a second time, he rifled through the box, embarrassedly realizing that the scrolls led right up until that very morning, not realizing just how much script Byakuya had written on each roll. Tomorrow, he mused, there would be a new set started at the Kuchiki manor. Sometimes, he thought his noble father could be so weird. Even more so than his other parent, and Renji was as strange as they came.

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Under the direction of Genryuusai-dono himself, the Gotei 13 had decorated for the grand occasion, smiling despite his normally sour appearance as he greeted the newlyweds after the grand ceremony had finished, having officiated it himself due to his status amongst the shinigami and his duty to serve those he protected as the captain commander. He bowed low to Tomi, leaning heavily on his cane, embarrassing the boy enough so that he blushed from the old man's reverence, used to being treated differently because he was noble-born but still shocked by it when it came from those in a higher standing than even himself.

To Momo, he smiled broadly and embraced her in a loving hug, having spent countless hundreds of years in her life and always being like a grandfather to her, the tears in her eyes matching his own as she kissed him gently on the cheek and then clasped her new husband's hand.

"Can we go now, Tomi-kun? Unohana-taichou said the reception's being held in the captain's meeting room and we have to get there before everyone else arrives." She spoke in hushed tones, not wanting to be much more of a spectacle than she already was.

Her outfit had been chosen especially for the season and with help from Rangiku, Ise and Kiyone, she had decided on a formal kimono like the traditional human girls wore, all flowing silk and thick obi, her hair kept in its little bun but lifted slightly higher on her head, then adorned with fresh carnations, her favourite flower.

The proud groom, opposed to dressing up, was taken by force by Renji and his eleventh division friends to the living world so he could find a matching outfit for himself. He ended up with an elaborate kimono and hakama combination in different shades of grey, everything emblazoned with the Kuchiki clan's family emblem.

Once dressed, he felt like royalty and to Renji, he certainly looked it, remembering how delicious his own lover looked once dressed in an heirloom outfit for their own private wedding. Tomi's hair, normally allowed to move freely like Byakuya's, was strung up like Renji's, samurai-style, complete with rawhide lacings to keep it tight and two bells hanging from the strings, to signify their union.

Tomi smiled down at her and whispered that they could leave once he went to talk with his friends, the group of boys feeling slightly out of place within Seireitei, normally barred from entering due to their lineage, having been invited only for the day, another rule broken by the shinigami to accommodate the ever changing future. Momo nodded and moved to stand beside Renji, resting against him as she listened to his conversation with Byakuya, enjoying the company of her new in-laws, feeling closer to them, even if it was only due to her new married state.

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The day and following night had dragged on endlessly and to the new couple, it was exhausting, both of them suffering through severe headaches to the thousands of questions asked of them, as well as from the amount of alcohol they had imbibed, Tomi especially. His red haired father being the sake fiend he was and all.

Not even their first night of married life could they celebrate with each other, so cranky and demanding of sleep that they fell asleep in each other's arms in the overly elaborate bed Kira and Ichimaru had given them as a wedding present. It was Gin's philosophy, that one could never sleep too much or too comfortably, and he had had the large piece of furniture made especially for the pair from a craftsman he knew in Rukongai. According to him, he and his little lover had one just like it.

Many of the other gifts were just as decadent and Tomi felt overwhelmed by them, their sitting room overflowing with packages and boxes, not a few of them with labels from the living world.

In the bedroom were the special items, those deemed too nice to leave in the boxes for the night. Most notably, the expensive silks and jewelry from Matsumoto and Hitsugaya. The pair had gone overboard on their gifts because the white haired taichou was such a close friend to Hinamori and Rangiku had insisted upon going all out.

Their division fund had been devastated by the amount of money they had spent but as Matsumoto had said, no girl should go without a platinum set of coordinating pieces to go with her new material and no respectable man would ever go through life without a heavy knuckle ring to match her.

Both Byakuya and Renji had given them the best gift, the entirety of the large Kuchiki manor, their plans to move everything between the two homes going through the next day. Tomi had protested severely, not wanting to take his father's home from him but the regal captain had raised his hand in answer, a signal that the conversation was over.

They had discussed it over their meal in the lavishly decorated captain's meeting hall and while Hinamori was busy talking to Nanao, Byakuya had told him why the plans were made as such.

"You were raised in that home, little one. It's got all the amenities a new family needs for the future. The nursery especially."

He gave the boy a little glare as he lowered his voice so Renji couldn't hear, the pony tailed fukutaichou currently holding an argument with Ikkaku and Yumichika, both dressed in their finest and halfway to drunk already.

"Which I hope you two will use shortly. Hona has been asking about our coming grandchildren on a nearly daily basis. For the goodness of our sanity and yours, give her a child to care for."

Both men laughed then, secure in the knowledge that everything would be fine for them, though Byakuya denied telling the boy just how irritated Renji was about the move, having finally become accustomed to being waited on and not looking forward to learning the names of Tomi's servants.

Tomi smiled in the darkness of his home, his head throbbing painfully and his back bruised from the amount of good luck pats and slaps he got, his arms wound around the little fukutaichou's body. She snored softly, a sound the boy has become accustomed to, having shared a bed with her countless times in the past months, thinking that he was being secretive but eventually told by his loudmouthed father that they knew all along.

"I guess we've got a lot of growing up to do still, Momo-chan. Bya-chi's probably more into the idea of grandchildren than Hona-chan is and Ren-chi's sorta waiting for me to make prove myself to be a real man." The little snoring bundle didn't reply and he sighed softly, closing his eyes as he listened to the trees in the garden rustling in the night breeze.

"I hear you, Hisana-baachan. How'd you like to have a new little Kuchiki climbing all over you?"

He murmured in his sleep, slowly falling into its depths like his beautiful young wife.

"Maybe it'll be a girl and we can call her Akane. I wonder why that name makes so much sense…"

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A/N: The name 'Akane', also means scarlet. It's a beautiful name for a girl and due to Hisana's spiritual influence, Tomi likes the name without realizing why. –smiles- Just a bit of info there. And also, I know that Hisana isn't actually Tomi's grandmother, but usually in a Japanese setting, older women who are close to a child are referred to as Obaa-san or Obaa-chan.


End file.
